Collection Development Policy

Project BackgroundIn 1999, The New York Academy of Medicine began collecting grey literature in an effort to better meet the needs of internal research staff. This project developed into the Grey Literature Report, an online report published bi-monthly by the Academy Library, which now serves a community of over 2300 subscribers.

Audience The Report is intended primarily for researchers, practitioners, students and the lay public who are interested in public health, health and science policy, health of minorities and special populations (children, women, uninsured, elderly), and related disciplines.

ScopeMaterials are collected in health and science policy, public health, health of vulnerable and special populations (i.e. children, women, uninsured, elderly) and those areas of general medicine and disease in which the Academy has research interests. The focus is on research material, not consumer health material.

The Report encompasses unindexed materials that are not produced by commercial publishers and are unavailable through normal, commercial distribution channels. Materials in our grey literature collection are published by government agencies, non-profit non-governmental organizations, universities, independent research centers, and international organizations. Please visit our list of Grey Literature-Producing Organizations for more information.

Coverage and Document TypesThe publication date of materials is 2000 to the present with an emphasis on prospective collecting and earlier material as necessary for an historical perspective. English language print materials are collected that are freely available on the Internet.

Document types include but are not limited to case studies, conference proceedings, discussion papers, fact sheets, government documents, issue briefs, research reports, statistical reports, and white papers. Numeric reports are not collected, although questionnaires, health statistics and data are collected when they form an integral part of a report. Currently, no audiovisual material, videos or webcasts are collected.

Conditions of UseThe Grey Literature Report includes citations, hyperlinks, and other documentation references which are provided solely as a convenience to the reader in accordance with all current copyright legislation. The resources provided are for scholarly and personal use only and may not be used for commercial purposes. The New York Academy of Medicine is not responsible in fact or by implication for any misappropriation or misuse of such materials, citations, hyperlinks, or references by the reader with regards to copyright.